Tissue engineering with chondrocytes

Tissue engineering of cartilage, using chondrocytes based on the use of synthetic biodegradable polymer cell delivery vehicles (scaffolds), is an alternate treatment modality for replacing missing cartilage. Cartilage tissue engineering has an important role to play in the generation of graft material for head and neck reconstruction. It is an approach to fabricate cartilage constructs in vitro, which could be used in reconstructive surgery. Methods involve (1) harvesting septal cartilage during septoplasty, (2) isolating chondrocytes through enzymatic digestion of the septal cartilage, (3) expanding the cell number in a two-dimensional monolayer culture, using serum-free media, (4) seeding the cells onto a biodegradable polymer scaffold, and (5) cultivating the seeded scaffolds in a rotating bioreactor. In this article we briefly outline the methodology and clinical applications of cartilage grown ex vivo.